Prompt IDE, now a legacy product · checked 28 Sept 2026
DeskFerry vs Wordware
Wordware was a prompt IDE: you wrote AI workflows as documents, in natural language, and published them as WordApps. In October 2025 the founders pivoted the company to Sauna, a personal AI assistant. The original builder still runs as "Wordware V1", but it is no longer where the company is investing.
Choose Wordware when
- you already run WordApps in production and they work
- you want to see and edit the exact prompt text behind every step
- you need a flow embedded in your own product via API
Choose DeskFerry when
- you're looking for an actively developed agent platform
- your team wants to describe jobs, not author prompts
- you want published pricing you can check
01 · Status
Wordware: V1 builder is legacy; company focus is Sauna
DeskFerry: actively developed
02 · Build model
Wordware: prompt documents with nodes, published as WordApps
DeskFerry: a brief per agent
03 · Pricing page
Wordware: returns a 404 as of this check
DeskFerry: deskferry.com/pricing
04 · Apps
Wordware: 2,000+ integrated apps
DeskFerry: 1,500+ apps
What happened to Wordware
From prompt IDE to personal assistant
The short version, from the founders' own post and Wordware's live site.
2024
A $30M seed for 'words as code'
Wordware raises one of the largest seed rounds in Y Combinator's history to build an IDE where natural language is the programming language.
Apr 2025
Triggers, actions and 2,000+ apps
The builder grows into a workflow platform: flows can start from app events and act across integrated apps.
Oct 2025
The pivot to Sauna
In their own words: "Wordware → Sauna. Workflow builder → AI companion. Infrastructure → Prosumer." Sauna is a personal assistant with persistent memory.
SourceSep 2026
V1 still runs, pricing page gone
The original builder is reachable as "Wordware V1" from the homepage. Its pricing page returns a 404, while the in-app FAQ still points to it.
What it means
If you're choosing a platform to build agents on today, weigh Wordware V1 as a product whose maker has moved on. If you liked writing workflows in plain language, DeskFerry keeps that idea: you describe the job and an agent runs it, on a product that's actively maintained.
Feature by feature
Where each one wins
| Feature | Wordware | DeskFerry | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product status | Legacy V1; company focus on Sauna | Actively developed | DeskFerry |
| Seeing the prompt | The prompt is the program, fully editable | You write the brief; the agent plans the steps | Wordware |
| Embedding in your product | WordApps deploy with an API | Web app, Slack and a chat widget | Wordware |
| Published pricing | Pricing page returns a 404 | $49 / $99 / $299 | DeskFerry |
| Integrations | 2,000+ apps | 1,500+ apps | Wordware |
Sources: wordware.ai/story · Wordware V1 · Wordware docs · checked 28 Sept 2026
Straight talk
When to stay on Wordware
Your WordApps work
A running flow doesn't need replacing just because the roadmap moved. Plan the migration; don't rush it.
You tune prompts by hand
If your edge is carefully authored prompt text, Wordware's document editor exposes it in a way a brief doesn't.
You ship the flow as a feature
WordApps with API access suit AI features inside your own product, which isn't what DeskFerry is for.
Moving over
Turn each WordApp into a brief
Most WordApps are a long prompt with a few tool calls. That translates well into a brief.
Export what each flow does
Note the trigger, the apps it touches, and the output someone relies on.
Collapse the prompt into the goal
Keep the rules that matter, such as tone, limits and who to ask, and drop the scaffolding.
Compare a week of outputs
Run both on real inputs before switching the WordApp off.
FAQ
Wordware questions
Is Wordware shutting down?
Wordware hasn't announced a shutdown of V1. The company pivoted to Sauna in October 2025, the builder is labelled "Wordware V1", and its public pricing page returns a 404, so treat it as a legacy product.
What is Sauna?
Wordware's new product: a personal AI assistant for individual knowledge workers, with persistent memory and features the founders call Recipes, Spaces and Preferences.
How much does Wordware cost?
We couldn't find current pricing: wordware.ai/pricing returns a 404. The in-app FAQ says everyone gets free monthly credits, then pay-as-you-go, or unlimited use if outputs carry a "powered by wordware" tag.
Is DeskFerry a Wordware alternative?
For internal automation written in plain language, yes. For embedding an AI flow inside your own product via API, look at developer-focused options instead.
Keep writing workflows in plain language
Describe the job your WordApp did, connect the apps, and run it on a product that's still being built.